


Greatest Time of Year

by pressdbtwnpages



Category: Party Down
Genre: F/M, Futurefic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-14
Updated: 2011-12-14
Packaged: 2017-10-27 09:44:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/294369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pressdbtwnpages/pseuds/pressdbtwnpages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>There cannot possibly only be two caterers in LA.</i> In the future, Henry and Casey host a party...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Greatest Time of Year

**Author's Note:**

> For Advent 2011.

Henry will absolutely admit that he hadn’t been paying much attention to the party details.

And, as it turns out, neither had Casey.

In their defense, the Hollywood Holiday Party, had been Casey’s manager’s idea. It isn’t something Henry even wants to attend, much less be hosting.

But Michael had spewed a whole lot of bullshit about no man being an island and isolationist policies and networking and Henry and Casey had given in before they had to hear him quote the Dalai Lama.

They’d hired a party planner, given her a budget that still sort of makes Henry nauseous - he keeps forgetting that he’s a rich movie star now - and stepped back.

Clearly too far.

Which is how Henry finds himself taking a glass of champagne off of a caterer’s tray, passing it to Casey, reaching for another, and finding himself face to face with Kyle Bradway.

“Why are you blond now?” he asks Casey, who shrugs.

“Work. You know how it is.”

Kyle’s hair is tinted an unnatural auburn and he’s wearing both brown contacts and eyeglasses. Henry gets the unsettling feeling that Kyle’s new look is an homage to him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kyle nods. “I’m trying to re-brand, be more of an intellectualist.”

“Mm-hmm.” Casey nods back and Henry knows she is just as lost as he is.

“So this is your party?” Kyle asks. “ _Nice_ place. Ron will be stoked to see you guys.”

“Ron’s here?” Henry asks and then answers his own question. “Of course Ron’s here.”

Ron’s here. _Party Down_ is here. And they know where he lives.

“Excuse us for a minute Kyle. Case? Can I talk to you?” His voice comes out high.

Casey drags him into a room that he’d assumed was a coat closet but is in fact a(nother) spare room.

“Did you know?” she hisses.

“Of course I didn’t know. Do you think I want Ron Donald _knowing where we live_? It’s your party!”

Casey grips her forehead. “Oh god.”

Henry sighs. “Well, it’s done now. We’re just going to have to-”

“Henry. Our co-workers are out there. John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are out there. Zooey Deschanel is out there. Alec Baldwin. Melissa McCarthy. Paul Rudd. Do you really want Ron meeting Paul Rudd and telling him all about his good bud Henry?”

Henry can’t even imagine the carnage and he worked with Ron for years.

“Of course not. We need to find Joan, this is her mess.”

Joan-the-party-planner is in the kitchen. Flirting with Ron and dodging Lydia’s glares.

“Henry! Casey!” Ron shouts as soon as he sees them, running over to hug them both.

Joan blushes and runs a hand through her slightly dishevelled hair. “Surprise! Party Down! Do you like it? Michael said you’d like it!”

Ron has Henry in a bear hug, but even so, “Excuse me? What?”

“I don’t usually work with Party Down,” Joan explains, “but Michael said you two met working with them and that it would be a romantic surprise. Is it? Are you surprised?”

“So surprised,” Henry agrees.

“Excuse me. I have to go,” Casey says tensely.

Henry pulls away from Ron and shrugs apologetically. “Hey, Case. Wait up. Join us, Joan?”

She follows Henry who chases Casey who is dragging her manager into the spare room.

Out of the corner of his eye Henry sees Roman approaching Zooey Deschanel with a shrimp tray. He groans.

By the time Henry and Joan make it to Casey, she has already read her manager the riot act. Her cheeks are pink and her chest is heaving and it is absolutely the wrong moment, but Henry wants her.

He thinks briefly of the bigass diamond ring under their Christmas tree. Oh God. If Ron finds the Christmas tree...

“Case,” Henry wraps an arm around her, “We can fix this. Joan, you must have the number for an emergency caterer.”

“Yes, of course.” She whips her phone out, already dialing.

“Wait!” Casey shouts. “Who are you calling?”

“The spare caterer.”

Casey rolls her eyes. God, Henry loves her. Proposing is totally a good call. “I meant which catering company are you calling?”

“Valhalla-”

Henry groans. “There cannot possibly only be two caterers in LA.”

Casey looks smug.

“-They’re very professional. I use them all the time.”

“Hang up,” Henry orders. “Please. Party Down is fine.”

Of course, when they rejoin the party, Ron has found the Christmas tree and Lydia is trying to convince Zooey to try the shrimp, she’ll like it. Kyle is auditioning for a group of P.A.’s and Roman is fixing drinks for the alcoholic head of the home owner’s association.

Beside him, Casey sighs and leans to him.

Henry holds her tight.

“Christmas with our friends?”

“I’ll go get us some drinks.”


End file.
